FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
October 20, 2004
CONTACT: RACHAELE
RAYNOFF, PRESS SECRETARY (212) 720-3471, fax: (212)
720-3219
AMANDA BURDEN RECEIVES
DESIGN PATRON AWARD
at Cooper Hewitt’s National Design Awards
(New York, New York – October 20, 2004) Amanda
M. Burden, Chair of the New York City Planning Commission
received the prestigious Design Patron award at the
2004 National Design Awards at the Smithsonian’s
Cooper-Hewitt, National Design Museum yesterday. Paul
Warwick Thompson, director of the museum, presented
the award to Ms. Burden in recognition of her devotion
to planning New York City communities and her ability
to channel growth by fostering design excellence and
by nurturing creativity to enhance the city’s
residential, commercial and cultural landscape.
The Design Patron Award was created in 2001 as one
of the National Design Awards to celebrate an individual’s
profound and meaningful long-term commitment to design.
The award recipient is chosen by Thompson annually.
Ms. Burden joins previous winners Stanley Marcus, hotelier
Andre Balazs and Gordon Segal of Crate & Barrel.
"As a civic leader widely recognized for her
generous community spirit and dedication to design excellence,
Amanda’s city planning continues to position New
York City as the great cosmopolitan center of capital
and culture. Amanda is the ideal person to carry on
our tradition and we applaud her for her design activism,"
stated Thompson.
An urban planner and civic activist, Ms. Burden is Chair
of the New York City Planning Commission and Director
of the Department of City Planning. She is an honorary
member of the AIA, American Institute of Architects,
and a member of the AICP, the American Institute of
Certified Planners. In her current position, Ms. Burden
encourages quality design to foster business district
growth and is a champion of New York City Mayor Michael
Bloomberg’s edict that good design is good economic
development. Ms. Burden’s focus, like the Mayor’s,
is city-wide and includes major projects as well as
zoning protections for numerous low-density neighborhoods
facing development pressures.
Ms. Burden’s influence and persistence in creating
better communities is shown in every project she oversees.
Specifically, Ms. Burden has spearheaded the redevelopment
of Downtown Brooklyn as a vibrant business district
as well the transformation of the former 2,200 acre
Fresh Kills landfill in Staten Island into a world class
multi-use park. Working with the Mayor, Burden has created
new rules to facilitate the transformation of the High
Line into an elevated park and crafted an urban design
master plan to revitalize Brooklyn's Greenpoint and
Williamsburg waterfront with new housing and parkland.
Hudson Yards, the vast underutilized area bounded roughly
by West 42nd Street and West 30th Street, Eighth Avenue
to the Hudson River, is another crucial area for which
Burden has developed a comprehensive master plan to
produce commercial space, convention sports and cultural
facilities, 12,000 new units of housing and a network
of public open space and parkland.
From 1983 to 1990, Ms. Burden was responsible for the
planning and design of Battery Park City and oversaw
the design of all open spaces, including the Esplanade
and the 30 acres of parkland. In 1987, Ms. Burden was
honored by the New York Society of Architects with the
Sidney Strauss Award recognizing her "outstanding
achievement for the benefit of the architectural profession."
Ms. Burden was officially honored, along with Milton
Glaser, the Lifetime Achievement winner, and the winners
of five other awards, at a gala dinner held at the Museum
in New York City.
About Cooper-Hewitt, National Design Museum
Cooper-Hewitt, National Design Museum, Smithsonian Institution
is the only museum in the nation devoted exclusively
to historic and contemporary design. The museum presents
compelling perspectives on the impact of design on daily
life through active educational programs, exhibitions,
and publications. Founded in 1897 by Amy, Eleanor, and
Sarah Hewitt–granddaughters of industrialist Peter
Cooper–as part of The Cooper Union for the Advancement
of Science and Art, the museum has been a branch of
Smithsonian since 1967.
The National Design Awards program was originally launched
at the White House in 2000 as an official project of
the White House Millennium Council. It celebrates design
in various disciplines as a vital humanistic tool in
shaping the world, and seeks to increase national awareness
of design by educating the public and promoting excellence,
innovation and lasting achievement.
About City Planning:
The Department of City Planning is responsible for the
City's physical and socioeconomic planning, including
land use and environmental review; preparation of plans
and policies; and provision of technical assistance
and planning information to government agencies, public
officials, and community boards.
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